The M50's are good cans for $116. That's also about the price they were selling at when the great reviews came out and many were recommending them as an entry level / beginner headphone. With it's popularity came a rise in price to about $160, which put them in contention with much better cans at that price point; and for that value, many (including myself) think they are not worth it.

The M50's are good cans for $116. That's also about the price they were selling at when the great reviews came out and many were recommending them as an entry level / beginner headphone. With it's popularity came a rise in price to about $160, which put them in contention with much better cans at that price point; and for that value, many (including myself) think they are not worth it.

It's an odd situation. Usually when you hear about something as much as we hear about the ATH-M50, you could call it overhyped. But in this situation, the question is "what's a good headphone for value in X price range?" It was established years and years ago that M50 is one very good answer to that question.

It's also a long way from neutral, and not everyone wants that sound signature... I can appreciate it has a good level of clarity etc, for it's price, but I could never live with it as a primary headphone. It (IMO) butchers too much of the music I enjoy.

I recommended it to a friend looking for a pair of 'decent' headphones though, and he loved them. If you want cheap, comfortable, relatively bassy, V shaped sound, they are very good.